The Lesser Dead

New York City in 1978 is a dirty, dangerous place to live - and die. Joey Peacock knows this as well as anybody - he has spent the last forty years as an adolescent vampire, perfecting the routine he now enjoys: womanizing in punk clubs and discotheques, feeding by night, and sleeping by day with others of his kind in the macabre labyrinth under the city's sidewalks.

The Necromancer's House

Andrew Ranulf Blankenship is a handsome, stylish nonconformist with wry wit, a classic Mustang, and a massive library. He is also a recovering alcoholic and a practicing warlock, able to speak with the dead through film. His house is a maze of sorcerous booby traps and escape tunnels, as yours might be if you were sitting on a treasury of Russian magic stolen from the Soviet Union thirty years ago.

Those Across the River

Failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife, Eudora, have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family's old estate - the Savoyard Plantation - and the horrors that occurred there. At first, the quaint, rural ways of their new neighbors seem to be everything they wanted. But there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice.

The Elementals

After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama's Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses loom over the shimmering beach. Two of the houses are habitable, while the third is slowly and mysteriously being buried beneath an enormous dune of blindingly white sand. But though long uninhabited, the third house is not empty. Inside, something deadly lies in wait.

The Tiger's Fate: Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary Officer, Book 3

A nobleman from an infamous family, an imperial legionary officer, and a born fighter, Captain Ben Stiger has successfully thwarted the attack from an army of the Cyphan Confederacy. Now Stiger, his men, and his new dwarven allies have fallen back behind the great walls of Castle Vrell. Stiger finds himself named Legate of the Vanished, the long-lost 13th Legion. This title and his own word binds him to the terms of the Compact, an ancient and mystical alliance formed nearly 2,000 years before.

Cold Moon over Babylon: Valancourt 20th Century Classics

Welcome to Babylon, a typical sleepy Alabama small town, where years earlier the Larkin family suffered a terrible tragedy. Now they are about to endure another: 14-year-old Margaret Larkin will be robbed of her innocence and her life by a killer who is beyond the reach of the law. But something strange is happening in Babylon: traffic lights flash an eerie blue, a ghostly hand slithers from the drain of a kitchen sink, graves erupt from the local cemetery in an implacable march of terror.

Hex

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's beds for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened, or the consequences will be too terrible to bear.

Library at Mount Char

Carolyn's not so different from the other human beings around her. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course - before the time she calls "adoption day", when she and a dozen other children found themselves being raised by a man they learned to call Father.

The Nameless Dark

The Nameless Dark debuts a major new voice in contemporary weird fiction. Within these minutes, you'll find whispers of the familiar ghosts of the classic pulps - Lovecraft, Bradbury, Smith - blended with Grau's uniquely macabre, witty storytelling, securing his place at the table amid this current Renaissance of literary horror.

Stiger's Tigers: Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary Officer, Book 1

The empire has endured many centuries but is now threatened by multiple wars and a major rebellion in the South. A nobleman from an infamous family, an imperial legionary officer, a fighter, and a right proper bastard of a man, Captain Ben Stiger finds himself reassigned from a crack legion to the rebellion simmering in the South. Placed in command of a truly terrible company, the 85th Imperial Foot, he is unknowingly sent on a suicide mission to resupply an isolated outpost, the garrison of Vrell.

The Last Days of Jack Sparks

It was no secret that journalist Jack Sparks had been researching the occult for his new book. No stranger to controversy, he'd already triggered a furious Twitter storm by mocking an exorcism he witnessed. Then there was that video: 40 seconds of chilling footage that Jack repeatedly claimed was not of his making, yet it was posted from his own YouTube account. Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed - until now.

The Tiger: Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary Officer, Book 2

Captain Ben Stiger captured Castle Vrell and rid it of a minion of a dark god. Now he finds himself cut off from the empire, with a hostile rebel army marching on the legion's fortress where they guard the entrance to Vrell Valley. It is not in Stiger's nature to simply wait for the enemy. Badly outnumbered and facing odds greater than 20 to one, he sets out to impede the enemy's advance and show them the steel that the legions are made of.

The Demon Awakens: Book I of the DemonWars Saga

A great evil has awakened in the land of Corona, a terrible demon determined to spread death and misery. His goblin armies and fearsome giants ravage the settlements of the frontier, and in the small village of Dundallis their merciless attack leaves behind two shattered orphans: Pony and her lifelong friend, the youth Elbryan. Taken in by elves, Elbryan is raised to become a formidable ranger - a fateful role that will lead him into harrowing confrontation.

The Haunting of Hill House

Four seekers have come to the ugly, abandoned old mansion: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of the psychic phenomenon called haunting; Theodora, his lovely and lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a lonely, homeless girl well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the adventurous future heir of Hill House.

A Head Full of Ghosts

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when 14-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia. To her parents' despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie's descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession.

The Hike

When Ben, a suburban family man, takes a business trip to rural Pennsylvania, he decides to spend the afternoon before his dinner meeting on a short hike. Once he sets out into the woods behind his hotel, he quickly comes to realize that the path he has chosen cannot be given up easily. With no choice but to move forward, Ben finds himself falling deeper and deeper into a world of man-eating giants, bizarre demons, and colossal insects.

Lovecraft Country: A Novel

Critically acclaimed cult novelist Matt Ruff makes visceral the terrors of life in Jim Crow America and its lingering effects in this brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy.

Lost Gods: A Novel

Fresh out of jail and eager to start a new life, Chet Moran and his pregnant wife, Trish, leave town to begin again. But an ancient evil is looming, and what seems like a safe haven may not be all it appears. Snared and murdered by a vile, arcane horror, Chet quickly learns that pain and death are not unique to the living. Now the lives and very souls of his wife and unborn child are at stake. To save them, he must journey into the bowels of purgatory in search of a sacred key promised to restore the natural order of life and death.

The Troop

Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip - a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there - which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier.

The Brotherhood of the Wheel

In AD 1119, a group of nine crusaders became known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon - a militant monastic order charged with protecting pilgrims and caravans traveling on the roads to and from the Holy Land. In time, the Knights Templar would grow in power and, ultimately, be laid low. But a small offshoot of the Templars endure and have returned to the order's original mission: to defend the roads of the world and guard those who travel on them.

The Summer Dragon: First Book of The Evertide

Maia and her family raise dragons for the political war machine. As she comes of age, she anticipates a dragon of her own to add to the stable of breeding parents. Her peaceful life is shattered when the Summer Dragon - one of the rare and mythical High Dragons - makes an appearance in her quiet valley. Political factions vie for control of the implied message, threatening her aspirations, her aerie, her entire way of life.

The Girl Next Door

Suburbia. Shady, tree-lined streets; well-tended lawns; and cozy homes. A nice, quiet place to grow up. Unless you are teenage Meg or her crippled sister, Susan. On a dead-end street, in the dark, damp basement of the Chandler house, Meg and Susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. It is a madness that infects all three of her sons and finally the entire neighborhood. Only one troubled boy stands hesitantly between Meg and Susan and their cruel, torturous deaths.

The Secret History of Twin Peaks

From the cocreator of the landmark series, the story millions of fans have been waiting to get their hands on for 25 long years.

A vastly layered, wide-ranging history that deepens the mysteries of the iconic town in ways that will thrill disciples of the original series and will prep fans for the upcoming SHOWTIME® series like nothing else out there.

Heart-Shaped Box

Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, a thing so terrible-strange, Jude can't help but reach for his wallet. For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man's suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. But what UPS delivers to his door in a black heart-shaped box is no imaginary or metaphorical ghost. It's the real thing.

Publisher's Summary

And Lucifer said, “Let us rise against Him now in all our numbers, and pull the walls of heaven down…”

The year is 1348. Thomas, a disgraced knight, has found a young girl alone in a dead Norman village. An orphan of the Black Death, and an almost unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Thomas that plague is only part of a larger cataclysm - that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven, and that the world of men has fallen behind the lines of conflict.

Is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon. There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission: to confront the evil that has devastated the earth and to restore to this betrayed, murderous knight the nobility and hope of salvation he long abandoned.

As Hell unleashes its wrath, and as the true nature of the girl is revealed, Thomas will find himself on a macabre battleground of angels, demons, saints, and the risen dead - and in the midst of a desperate struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.

Christopher Buehlman is a writer and performer from St. Petersburg, Florida. The winner of the 2007 Bridport Prize for poetry, he is also the author of several plays and the acclaimed horror novel Those Across the River. He lives with his wife and his rescued dog, Duck.

What the Critics Say

“Having made a huge bloody splash with Those across the River, Buehlman returns with a book set in 1348 Europe…It’s intriguing that Buehlman has leapt so far from the mid-century Southern setting of his first novel, just as intriguing that he’s also an award-winning poet. Expect demand.” (Library Journal)

Between Two Fires is a well written 14th century period piece that expertly intermingles vivid scenes of plague ravaged France with Christian mythos to provide a fantastical horror story that reads like historical fiction. I am not a great horror fan so to say I "liked" this book wouldn't be quite right, but I was completely captivated by it. Christopher Buehlman is masterful in his writing - his characters are so genuine, the settings so sharply etched, the plot so intricate and imaginative that I was engrossed throughout the book. I felt a bit dazed at the end of the book coming back to the 21st century after this total immersion experience in 1348.

I have to thank Audible and Troy's review for giving me a nudge to look at this book. I'm don't normally read books in the horror genre, but I am a huge fan of good writing and this book ranks right up there with the best. And, it paints such a clear picture of this period of medieval history that it is likely to be appealing to those who like historical fiction as well as those who enjoy a good scary story.

It's not a book for everyone - the book covers a dark period of history when the Black Death rampaged through Europe and many of the characters are rough, vulgar people so it is not surprising that there are graphic scenes of violence and a fair amount of cursing and crude language in the book. I did not think the violence or bad language was gratuitous, but I know I like to know before hand when a book is one I want to listen to in private. (One oddity in regard to the vulgar language, Buehlman seems to have no difficult referring to various parts of female anatomy in very coarse terms, but male anatomy was demurely referred to as "the groin" and "his verge" which struck me as a little strange.)

Steve West does a terrific job with the narration. He pitches his voice just right to maintain the growing tension through the plot progression and does a good job with voices as well. One tiny criticism - scythe, a word used many times in the novel, does not have a K sound in it. Not a big deal, but I do think audio production people could do a better job picking up that sort of thing.

This is not a book for the faint of heart or those with delicate sensibilities, but it is a fascinating and well-written story.

Christopher Buehlman is my new favorite author and oh boy does he know how to deliver a jaw-dropping, stomach-lurching, hair-raising apocalyptic tale of heaven, hell and pure evil! That’s right, this story is not for the faint of heart but if you can handle blasphemy, foul language, outrages monstrosities (both physical and emotional), disturbing descriptions of demons, disease, plague, murder, mutilations and gore then this audiobook is definitely for you.

We follow the trail of a disgraced knight, a damaged priest and a young orphaned girl who travel together to reach Avignon for a purpose not entirely clear until much later. What is clear is that the girl is ‘chosen’ and her visions guide the group through 14th century France’s countryside. Amidst the deadly outbreak of bubonic plague there are other things more sinister and the three face trials that range from the supernatural and celestial to the physical and psychological. Their journey is swamped with deliciously described battle scenes, personal struggles and outrageous horrors. Devils and mythical monsters abound since heaven has failed to answer, while Hell’s minions revel because God has fallen silent. Good vs. evil, dark vs. light, sinner vs. saint and demon vs. angel. There is also redemption, renewal, faith, mercy, sacrifice and love.

“Between Two Fires” is impressively detailed and well-written. The main characters are deeply developed and their adversaries are also well defined…and so maliciously murderous that one can almost smell the carnage. There are masterful passages of supernatural warfare, grotesque cruelty as well as moments of tenderness and lighthearted banter. With Steve West’s pitch-perfect narration, I was hooked and I found it near impossible to stop listening.

I can’t believe I had not heard of Christopher Buehlman but you can bet I will not forget him. In fact I’ve already purchased his book, “Those Across the River”. I need more please...more Buehlman for me!!!

ot only would I listen to it again, I WILL listen to it again. Maybe even right now!

Any additional comments?

This is the most original book I have a]\read in a long time. While some people may be turned off by the religious overtones, the story of Between Two Fires is compelling whether or not you are religious. It is like Stephen King's "The Stand" Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" and Brown's "Da Vinci Code" all got together and had a baby with a history bool about the Dark Ages. I have never read anything quite like it. The characters are fascinating and flawed, the plot is riveting and surprising, and the writing is superb. If you like fantasy or christian literature, or both, or neither, check this book out!

I enjoyed this book a lot. The fact that the characters were so different from most quasi-type Evil Vs Good. Tomas was interesting and you could really get a sense of how he thought what changed him and why. The female lead was also very different from most 'touched by angels' characters. Yes, it's a book of demons vs God in a battle for men's souls,,seemingly a God who has forgotten earth and his creation. Demons who always remember His creation. But they are different in this story and I enjoyed it. The Author's second book I think, but certainly with a lot of promise.I would definitely read another book by Buehlman. And I really liked the unexpected ending, what a nice surprise.This book isn't over religious and I don't want to give that impression. It's more about how we interact with and treat others and some of the consequences that result. It is a novel and not written as "This is the way it is" feeling one gets from reading an Author who is trying to state that his point of view is the only one, the true one. That sort of judging is not in this book. If you like a good story that has really scary parts, really gruesome parts, really endearing parts that span the continuum then get this book. You won't be disappointed.

I heard about this title on the This Is Audible podcast, and it sounded like a lot of fun. I like a good horror story, I love medieval fiction... it seemed a good match. Honestly, how many medieval horror novels do you know about? Then throw in that the author is known on the Ren Faire circuit as "Christoph the Insulter," well, curiosity made me dive in head first because I've seen this guy's schtick. He's a blast when he takes the stage. But is he a good novelist?

Yes. Yes he is. This book is amazing! You believe in the reality of these characters, and the grim sense of humor that many of them have seems like the only thing that would keep these characters sane, considering the story takes place during the Black Death. It's bad enough the story is descriptive enough that you can smell the carnage. It's clear that the writer has done his homework, because the world and its people feel real. But then add in that Lovecraftian sensibility where the fiends of Hell are crawling all over the place in impossibly grotesque shapes... you're laughing one minute at the jokes, then cringing the next because story is so well told and equally as well narrated. If you this book might be in your wheelhouse, it's an absolute must-read.

A fallen knight, an orphaned girl, & a priest are joined together on a trek through hell on earth hoping to each find salvation, life, or simple peace. It seemed a bit 'Wizard of Oz' ish but Steve West did such an incredible job I couldn't stop listening! I had heard Steve before in a romance book- Knight in Shining Armor- and thought he was terrible so I hesitated on this one. Wow I am so glad I took a chance. This type of genre doesn't usually appeal to me but I am trying to expand and read a broader spectrum. It was deep and sometimes confusing with all the religious banter. The power struggles between good and evil and the fantastic horrific demons /monsters really get your imagination stirring. I loved the way it ended......touching and surprising. The knight, Sir Thomas, will now always be one of my favorite characters.

This is now among my favorite stories. The story moves along well from the very beginning. The author builds the characters throughout the story but I fell in love with the main characters from the start. The story starts out interesting enough, but as it moves along the changes drew me in. I was pleasantly suprised throughout the story as the author continued to challenge me to try to guess what he had in store next.The narration and editing are excellent.

I got this one in a Halloween sale at audible, and it's fairly enjoyable. The setting is 14th century France, and the Black Death is ravishing a countryside already ravished by war. To the survivors, it looks like the End Times are coming and the devil's supernatural minions are loose upon the Earth. And perhaps they are...

The story feels like a mix of George R.R. Martin and Cormac McCarthy's The Road, with some Heironymus Bosch-ian freakiness thrown in (if you don't know who he is, do an image search on the internet -- it's worth your time). A hardbitten fallen knight is roaming the hellscape with some outlaws when his compatriots take an unwholesome interest in a strange girl, who claims to hear instructions from angels. The knight takes issue, swords are drawn, and soon the knight is the grudging companion of the girl, whom he intends to dump at the next village. But, after an encounter with a monster and a hallucinatory vision, he begins to think her angels might be real...

The plot takes a while to find its feet as the two protagonists go from town to town, encountering new scenes of devastation, various creatures of the underworld, and the usual demons of human nature, and picking up a wayward priest and a mule, but tightens up as it approaches the last act.

The story isn't without cliches, some dialogue of dubious authenticity, and few scenes or devices straight out of a B horror movie, but its more deliciously nightmarish moments make up for the weak patches. The monster/angel/demon battles are a little "Hollywood", but, otherwise, Buehlman does a fine job with creepy imagery and some of the more human-focused scenes.

I particularly enjoyed the mini-narratives that set the stage for each new act, describing an ongoing war between the hosts of heaven and the hosts of hell (with humanity caught in the middle) in appropriately medieval terms. I'm not sure how much of what transpires really represents Christian theology, but, then again, one could ask that about The Exorcist. The epilogue, though, seems to reach a more spiritual and less supernatural understanding of the religion.

Audiobook narrator, Steve West, does pretty well with male characters, though I wondered why he represented Frenchmen with an English accent. Maybe he can't do a French accent? His German accent might be the most Jamaican sounding one I've ever heard. And I wasn't a huge fan of his falsetto for Delphine.

Regardless, I think that fans of horror fantasy and/or gritty action set in the Middle Ages will enjoy this book. 3.5 stars overall.

The story of a fallen knight looking for redemption and an innocent child he must protect. Set in the time of the Black Plague, Buehlman captures the horror, the disgust, the putrescence of that setting in exquisite detail. The author delivers the aspects of redemption and innocence to perfection with a thrilling finale. The is the first book I've listened to by this author and I'm looking forward to diving into his other works.Definitely recommend this book!